By Brendan J. Lyons

Published 7:45 pm, Saturday, August 3, 2013

Greene County has agreed to pay $65,000 to a 28-year-old Catskill woman who filed a federal lawsuit in March alleging she was sexually abused at the county jail last year by a correction officer.

The case is one of two federal lawsuits filed this year by former female inmates who allege they were sexually assaulted by guards at the Catskill facility. The Times Union is withholding the names of the women under a policy not to identify alleged victims of rape or sexual assaults.

The two jail officers, Donald Schermerhorn, 43, and Ernest Dunn, 26, were both arrested last December and charged with official misconduct and sexually abusing female inmates in their custody. They were suspended from their jobs while their criminal cases are pending.

The Catskill woman who settled her case this week was serving a six-month sentence in April 2012 when, she claimed, Dunn ordered her to perform oral sex on him.

"He told (her) to remember that he knew where she lived, which was in close proximity to the jail," her lawsuit stated. She said that Dunn, who was assigned to a 12-cell unit that housed female inmates, stood in front of the woman's locked cell and passed her notes with explicit directions to perform sexual acts.

The woman's attorney, Mark D. Greenberg of Hudson, said the early settlement was reached, in part, because of information indicating his client had maintained a relationship with the guard after she left custody.

"We are hopeful that Greene County will address the serious issues raised in this lawsuit and provide for the safety and security of the prisoners in their custody," Greenberg said. "It is now 10 years after passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and it is clear the county has work to do."

The lawsuits allege Schermerhorn also began visiting the 28-year-old inmate's cell beginning in May 2012 when he worked overnight shifts. The woman claimed Schermerhorn wrote her four or five letters "requesting sexual favors and that (she) meet with him after her release from jail." She said Schermerhorn always retrieved the letters and would not let her keep them.

Both women claim other jail officers were aware of what was taking place and did nothing to stop it. They said the two male guards had unfettered access to female inmates at night and that a supervising sergeant only worked that tier during daytime hours.

The second lawsuit, filed in June by a 52-year-old Hunter woman, remains pending.

"It's a very different situation than the case that just settled," said her attorney, Elmer Robert Keach III of Amsterdam.

The lawsuit filed by Keach's client names as defendants Schermerhorn, Seely, jail Superintendent Michael Spitz, a jail sergeant, a nurse and a social worker at the facility.

The Hunter woman alleges that while she was incarcerated last year Schermerhorn watched her undress, groped her, forcibly touched her and threatened to punish her "if she refused his advances." The lawsuit indicates she reported the incidents to a jail nurse and a social worker, as well as a sergeant, but nothing was done. Her claim alleges that the nurse and social worker told her they'd "heard rumors" about Schermerhorn's conduct, but that it would be "her word" against the officer's.

The Greene County sheriff's department subsequently launched a criminal investigation when the female inmate showed jail officials a handwritten note attributed to Schermerhorn in which he allegedly asked to see naked photos of her on Facebook. The woman was interviewed by State Police investigators, who also visited state prisons to interview other women who had been incarcerated at the Catskill jail.

The investigators said they substantiated the inmate's claims against Schermerhorn and discovered similar conduct involving Dunn. Both men were arrested four months after the investigation began last August.

Dunn was charged with felony sexual misconduct, misdemeanor sexual abuse, official misconduct and coercion. Schermerhorn was charged with misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and official misconduct.

Greene County District Attorney Terry Wilhelm has declined to respond to requests for comment.